Swine Poo. Oh, and some TMBG and stuff.

November 6th, 2009

It’s been nearly four weeks since I first got sick with the flu, and I’m still feeling the after effects of it. I’m going to go ahead and call it – I had the swine flu. Fucking pigs. Meh.

Random music time!

A-Ha
I’ve Been Losing You (Extended Mix)
A-Ha is breaking up. I know this is shocking news to everyone in America who assumed they vanished into a black and white comic sometime around 1986. However, they’ve been quite big in Europe since 1984, and I’m assuming their impending break-up is pretty big news in Norway, where I assume they are blonde synth-pop gods. I’m not a huge fan of A-ha, but I do have their greatest hits compilation and I do have to say that I do think that over their course of their 20-plus year career they no doubt showed signs of fucking genius. Anyone who says they don’t like “Take On Me” is a damned liar, and “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.” just might be one of the most beautiful songs of the 80s. “I’ve Been Losing You” isn’t as good as that classic, but it does have a pretty awesome drum intro.

They Might Be Giants
S-E-X-X-Y (Tee’s Freeze Mix)
S-E-X-X-Y (Tee’s In House Dub)
S-E-X-X-Y (The Warren Rigg Microwave Mix)
I’ve seen nerd gods TMBG so many times I’ve actually lost count, I think it’s six or seven. Usually I’m better at keeping track of such things, but nearly every time I’ve seen them it’s been at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh, so all thsoe shows kind of morph together into one AMAZING concert. The first time I saw TMBG was in 1996, when they were touring in support for Factory Showroom, the album that features the original version of “S-E-X-X-Y.” I was just getting into them at the time and really wanted to see them. I wanted to see them so bad I went with my mom to see Hootie And The Blowfish because TMBG was opening for them. That’s some fucking dedication right there. I’m hardcore like that. These remixes are from a 12” single. Also, apparently the person who owned this 12” before me treated it like sandpaper, so there are a few pops and clicks. Sorry about that.

P.M. Dawn
I’d Die Without You (Extended Jeep Mix)
I’d Die Without You (Remix Dub)
I’d Die Without You (Extended Remix Radio Edit)
Hippie Hip Hop! I’m tired now and out of things to say. This song is so mellow it might kill you, be careful.

Posted in A-ha, P.M. Dawn, remixes, They Might Be Giants | 6 Comments »

Orchestral Manoeuvres in Toledo

November 2nd, 2009

I hate it when a band I like does something that I consider moderately evil. Thankfully I don’t like U2 or it would happen a lot. I am a fan of Wolfmother though, I think their debut is one of the best “rawk” albums in years, totally cribbing the best of AC/DC, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. I’ve been looking forward to their sophomore album, Cosmic Egg, for months and bought it the day it came out, even though I had a review copy! I’m fucking loyal!

However, there are two versions of the album (excluding the iTunes BS), a standard and a deluxe. The deluxe version has four more songs and costs about six bucks more. That’s annoying. There’s no reason why the “standard” album can’t have those four extra tracks, it’s just a marketing ploy. That’s fucked up. What’s more fucked up is that the deluxe version is two CDs, even though it would all fit on one CD. I’m assuming the official line is that it makes it more like the vinyl copy, which is split across two LPs (because it has to be). The actual reason? Because every two-CD edition sold counts as TWO copies sold, artificially inflating the numbers.

In a time where it’s getting harder and harder for artists to convince people to actually go out and BUY music this shit doesn’t help.

Siouxsie And The Banshees
The Killing Jar (Lepidopteristic Mix)
Something Wicked (This Way Comes)
Are You Still Dying Darling?
For those playing at home, a Lepidopterist is someone who collects butterflies, which makes sense since a killing jar is the jar used to kill caught butterflies. It’s one of the best-named remixes I’ve seen in a while, although it pales in comparison to all the crazy-ass Erasure remix titles (example: Truly In Love With The Marx Bros. Mix).

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
(Forever) Live And Die (Extended Mix)
(Forever) Live and Die (7” Version)
We Love You (Extended)
We Love You (7” Version)
We Love You (Dub)
These are from two 12” singles that are both excellent, although if I had to pick a favorite I would have to go with “(Forever) Live And Die,” it’s such a catchy tune. I was originally going to call this post “Mo’ MD” but that’s just stupid. Speaking of stupid, I’m at my dad’s house right now and after being subjected to Fox News for an hour I am currently being forced to watch Survivor. It’s like a greatest hits of what’s wrong with American media all from the comfort of a couch. Sigh. The opening of the extended mix of “(Forever) Live And Die” is a bit scratchy, but it improves as the song goes. Sorry about that.

Posted in OMD, Siouxsie and The Banshees | 7 Comments »

Hippity Hoppity Bowie

October 28th, 2009

Damn and fuck I’ve been busy. If it’s not visiting relatives or visiting friends its swine flu, or in the case of this week – work and funerals. I really hope my November is better than my October. Anyways…music!

David Bowie
Fame 90 (with Queen Latifah)
Fame 90 (House Mix)
Fame 90 (Hip Hop Mix)
Fame 90 (Absolutely Nothing Premeditated/Epic Mix)
Fame is a great song. So great that it can withstand some of the most overproduced remix effects that 1990 had to offer, although in some cases it fairs worse than others. The house mix is alright, the Hip Hop mix is good (and not at all hip hop so don’t worry), the Epic Mix is just that – clocking in at over 14 minutes, and the mix with Queen Latifah is the kind of wondrous WTF train wreck that only 1990 could produce. All are worth at least one listen. Although none hold a candle to the original. Why fuck with a classic?

Sugar Daddy
Another One Bites The Dust
So…this is a 1980 hip-hop track that is nothing more than a rap over an instrumental track of Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.” I don’t think it wants to be a rap song though, as Sugar Daddy (AKA Kevin Woodley – who is apparently BIG on self-promotion) says the word “disco” about a billion and a half times. It’s very Golden Age, with a cadence taken straight out of “Rapper’s Delight” with added “Oh yeahs!” Utterly ridiculous and a hell of a lot of fun.

Posted in David Bowie, remixes | 2 Comments »

Insert Clever "See You/Swine Flu" Pun Here

October 23rd, 2009

I am beginning to feel not-so-dead. I will celebrate this amazing occasion with Depeche Mode. It’s how I celebrate all things worth celebrating, and several things not worth celebrating.

And yes, I know I could have made a Black Celebration joke there, but I’m above that. Actually, I’m too tired to think of one.

Depeche Mode
My Secret Garden (Live)
See You (Live)
Satellite (Live)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Live)
New Life (Live)
Boys Say Go! (Live)
Nothing To Fear (Live)
The Meaning Of Love (Live)
Just Can’t Get Enough (Live)
A Photograph Of You (Live)
Shout (Live)
Photographic (Live)
There are a finite number of vinyl/limited edition Depeche Mode releases out there. And I’m assuming that not all of will make their way to Jerry’s Records, located on 2135 Murray Ave. in Pittsburgh, PA. However, as long as they do I’ll keep buying them. These tracks are from three separate limited edition singles, when you take all the B-sides to them they form what is probably a complete concert, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on the 25th of October, 1982. That’s right, these singles are like Voltron – powerful on their own but when combined they form something unstoppable! Okay, I don’t know how “unstoppable” Depeche Mode live is but you get my drift.

Posted in B-sides, Depeche Mode, live | 3 Comments »

Flu me

October 21st, 2009

Ugh, this is only my third post this month! I was going to kick ass as be all prolific this week but I am currently ill. I have the flu, possibly of the swine variety. It’s not fun. Right now I’m functioning on Sudafed alone. I got so much of that shit in me that you could cook meth from my blood.

However, I am a many of my word and promised more ridiculous Moroder insanity this week, so here it is.

Giorgio Moroder & Joe Esposito – Solitary Men
Solitary Man
Show Me The Night
My Girl
Too Hot To Touch
Diamond Lizzy
Washed in The Neon Light
A Love Affair
Nights in White Satin (has a skip in the first minute, sorry!)
Lady, Lady
White Hotel
To Turn The Stone
I was presented with quite the moral quandary with this one. This is NOT a good album, in fact, it’s quite awful. However, it is very hard to get in America and it is excessively weird and of note for a number of reasons. For that I feel it is worth posting and talking about. However, I can not downplay just how awful this record is. If you don’t recognize either of the people responsible for it then I suggest moving along and coming back later in the week. Otherwise…

If you’re a regular visitor to this blog then you probably know who Giorgio Moroder is. I talked about him briefly in my last post and I will once again point those who want to know more to his Wikipedia page.

But who is Joe Esposito you ask? You fool! Why he’s only the singer/songwriter behind the best non-Rocky sports movie montage song of the 80s! That song is of course “You’re The Best” from The Karate Kid, a ridiculous piece of motivational tripe that should be on your iPod’s workout playlist.

I have more to say, but I’m very tired, so screw it. Sorry.

PS: “Lady, Lady” is fucking gross.

Posted in Complete Albums, Giorgio Moroder, Joe Esposito | 3 Comments »

Thank you for reminding me what a fine actor Bill Pullman Is

October 15th, 2009

You can all stop doing that now.

Sorry for the delay in posts, been a busy couple of weeks. I make up for lost time by bringing you excessively silly disco!

Munich Machine
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
It’s For You
It’s All Wrong (But It’s Alright)
La Nuit Blanche
Love Fever
In Love With Love
Munich Machine was an alias for Giorgio Moroder. For those of you less versed in…awesome, Moroder is a music god, go to his wiki page to learn more, I’m tired. And while Moroder is responsible for some of the best tracks of the 70s and 80s, you won’t find any of them on this release. Yes, this is lesser Moroder for sure, but still fun in its own way. Some of it is great for its stupidity; the cover of “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” is re-goddam-diculous, and “La Nuit Blanche” is a silly disco take on “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (aka the music from the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey). However, there are some stellar tracks here. “It’s For You” has an excellent haunting bassline that is just waiting to be sampled by someone and “In Love With Love” is vocoder-filled masterpiece. Sure, this is all cheesy and kind of silly, but who the hell cares? Besides, it’s all fine art compared to the Moroder album I’ll be putting up sometime next week…

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Shit in my Angry Chair

October 5th, 2009

So on Friday I went to a local theater to see a double-feature of Nightmare On Elm Street and Candyman. I’m cool like that. My friend that was supposed to go with me couldn’t escape a work engagement so I went on my own, knowing I would meet a couple of friends when I got there. Nightmare On Elm Street starts and for some reason I go from zero to pissy in about six seconds. Hand nothing to do with the movie (which I love) it had to do with some people in the audience, who would not stop giggling. I get that the movie is old and a little dated, but it’s not FUNNY (okay, Johnny Depp getting blended to death is, but that’s really about it).

Still, while their non-stop giggling was annoying, I was far more annoyed with it than I should have been. This was on me not them. The movie ends and it’s time for intermission. I go out to talk to my friends about next week’s double-feature which is the Italian horror classic Zombi and the amazing 1987 Kathyrn Bigelow vampire flick Near Dark. I’m trying to sell Near Dark to my skeptic friends who haven’t seen it, playing up the awesomeness of Bill Paxton using a decapitated head to go bowling. One of them says “I loved him in Independence Day!”

“That’s Bill Pullman,” I say, correcting them. I’ve never understood the confusion between the two and it’s a big pet peeve. Bill Paxton; True Lies, Aliens, Apollo 13, Fragile. Bill Pullman: Independence Day, Lost Highway…and that’s about it. I’m a fan of the Paxton. Another friend, a very very good friend of mine, then says, “Does he eat fruit with the skin still on it in this one?” I’m confused and ask for some elaboration. She says, “You know, like he did in K-Pax.”

“That was Kevin Spacey you fucking retard!” I yell at her. Judging from the reactions to those around me I realize that was a bit harsh. I then realize that I am not being very good company that night and I take off early, skipping Candyman because I’m afraid any inappropriate giggling may end with me hurting someone.

The point of this story is that when you have your own blog you can talk about whatever the fuck you want even if it doesn’t have any relevance to anything else, or even a conclusion.

David Bowie
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V2)
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V3)
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V4)
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V5)
I’m Afraid Of Americans (V6)
My brother’s name is Johnny, ergo I find this song funny. These remixes are from a CD single. V3 features Ice Cube. V5 was remixed by Photek. v6 sucks. But don’t take my word for it, find out yourselves.

Alice In Chains
It Ain’t Like That (Live)
Hate To Feel (Live)
The new Alice In Chains album is actually fucking incredible. William Duvall is a great vocalist, reminiscent of Layne without sounding like a cheap imitation. Buy it. While you do that listen to these classic live Alice In Chains cuts taken from the CD single to Angry Chair.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

Is This The Blog Im Singing

September 30th, 2009

Vodka!

Echo And The Bunnymen
Think I Need It Too
Lips Like Sugar (Way Out West Remix Edit)
Do It Clean (Live)
This is a first for me. I actually got permission to post one of these songs. For some reason I was put on the right mailing list and some lovely people from Echo And The Bunnymen’s label sent me a link to download the new album in its entirety, with permission to post the single on my blog! That’s awesome! Finally, this blogging shit is starting to pay off. Well, to be honest I only got permission to post the one song, not the older tracks, but hell, they never stopped me before. They’re not Steve Winwood after all. The “Lips Like Sugar” remix is from a compilation called Future Retro and the live version of “Do It Clean” is from an EP called The Sound of Echo.

I have listened to The Fountain (the band’s upcoming release) and I can tell you that it totally totally kicks all kinds of ass. When it comes out you should fucking buy it. It kicks ass.

The Icicle Works
Understanding Jane (Live)
Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (Live)

Roadhouse Blues (Live)

And in “also ran” news I have some tracks by the third-tier Liverpool band The Icicle Works, who pale in comparison to the awesome awesomeness of Echo And The Bunnymen, “Whisper To A Scream” notwithstanding. This live version of “Understanding Jane” is actually quite amazing, but the live covers are holy shit bad. I’m posting them because they’ve never been released on CD as far as I know and there has to be some die hard Icicle Works fan out there clamoring for them right?

Posted in B-sides, Echo and the Bunnymen, live, remixes, The Icicle Works | 4 Comments »

Where’s my poorly programmed fansite?

September 28th, 2009

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but just because I go off on a singular word “rant” on Twitter doesn’t mean I’m going to elaborate here. Sometimes my misery (such as it is) is my own. I love how I got tweets looking forward to elaboration on this. Sorry. Not gonna happen.

Bitches, man.

Arcadia
The Flame (Extended Remix)
The Flame (Yo Homeboy Mix)
The Promise (Extended Remix)
I never fully “got” the point of Arcadia. They’re 3/5ths of Duran Duran, with Andy Taylor and John Taylor MIA, correct? But Duran Duran after Arcadia was really just 4/5ths Duran Duran since Andy Taylor quit the group. It’s like some fucked up math problem, with synthesizers. The stupidity of it all boggles me. What boggles me even more is that a new band is trying something very similar. The Annuals is an overrated indie band who just last year released an album as Sunfold. Identical line-ups, just shuffled around a bit (the drummer sings now, yay). It’s incredibly stupid if you ask me (and you should have!) Why not have a pair of balls and try to be musically diverse instead of creating fake side-projects to showcase your “artier” sides. Oh well, at least Arcadia was good, unlike Sunfold (or The Annuals for that matter). These are from 12” singles originally, but I grabbed them online because my singles were scratched as shit.

Hohokam
Don’t You Know (Extended Mix)
Envy Your Innocence
A synth-pop band signed to Gary Numan’s incredibly short-lived Numa label. And proof that everyone has their own fan page.

Macy Gray
Sexual Revolution (Nunez, Morillo & Who Da Funk Super Dub)
Sexual Revolution (Morillo Retro Club Mix)
Sexual Revolution (Morillo Retro Dub Mix)
I liked Macy Gray’s second album. There, I said it. Yes, I’m the one. I miss her being popular, I really hope she can comeback someday. Not only is her solo stuff unique and fun, but her guest appearances kicked ass too. She’s on “Request Line,” the last good Black Eyed Peas song to date, as well as the ultra-dirty “Love Life” by Fatboy Slim. Such an amazing voice. These are from a white label test pressing that I found. The label might not be accurate.

Posted in Arcadia, Hohokam, Macy Gray, remixes | 3 Comments »

Displaced rage and 80s dance music

September 25th, 2009

To all the shitty stupid pseudo-anarchists, bullshit socialists and various other fucking assholes who are trashing my city.

Get fucked.

Windows all over parts of the the city are getting trashed by God knows who. I’m sure some protesters are going to blame the cops, sayings that undercover units are infiltrating the groups to start shit and give the police a reason to run in. Some already have. One “socialist” blog I saw said “rocks in BMW and Boston Chicken stores were the frustrated outcome of a crowd whose right to assemble had been forcefully revoked.”

You know what dude? Go fuck yourself. Really? First of all, none of you shits were legally protesting. You were gathering in large numbers and causing a disruption just by being there, shouting shit and blocking traffic. That’s not part of your fucking right to assemble shitheads. Secondly, what does breaking shit solve? Sure, it feels good, but that’s not a real good way to endear the people to your fucking cause. You ever read about Martin Luther King Jr., or Ghandi breaking fucking windows or picking fights? No. Because they weren’t fucking retarded. You are.

What the fuck are these protests for anyways? And what the fuck are you little shits accomplishing other than alienating left-wing progressives (i.e. ME) who might be sympathetic to your cause otherwise? The second you start destroying the property of LOCALLY owned businesses you loose all credibility. Get fucked. I hope the police beat the shit out of you when the cameras aren’t on. You get what you fucking deserve.

Except this guy. He’s awesome.

Now who wants some synthpop?

Eurthymics
The Ministry Of Love (Extended Version)
This is from the soundtrack to 1984. The film based on the book about a real totalitarian regime. Not the fake one the G20 protesters are whining about. This is extended version is from the 12” single to “Julia,” another track from the soundtrack. Fun bit of trivia about this tune, it’s not very good.

Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark
Tesla Girls (Specially Remixed Version)
Tesla Girls (Video Version)
This is an odd song. I’m learning more about OMD all the time, maybe one day I’ll actually buy one of their albums. These are also from a 12” single.

Berlin
No More Words (Dance Remix)
Dancing In Berlin (Remix)
Yay! Berlin! They can cheer me up in this time of unnecessary social unrest and political douchebaggery! Terri Nunn I love you (always filled my eyes). These are from a very strange 12” that is actually two separate 12” singles packaged together.

Posted in Berlin, Eurythmics, OMD, remixes | 11 Comments »

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